This Is Not the Afterlife
by Suzumi's Wings
Summary: Silly fluffy work in progress. Caesar, Cassius, and Brutus had all died by the end of the play... but did they go where they were expecting to? Apparently not. Fun times with the Julius Caesar characters, who actually don't talk in Shakespearean English!
1. When Not in Rome

(A/N: It's going to be silly fluff, dahlinks. Mostly it uses Shakespeare's Julius Caesar universe, although there are a few things that I might stick in from history. First Shakespeare fic and such. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Not mine, and I'm not making any money. They belonged to themselves first, then Shakespeare made a play about them, so stick ownership where you want, but not with me!)

* * *

Chapter 1: When not in Rome... 

_Then let Caesar fall_... Perhaps death wasn't such a bad thing after all. But then, there was still that pain that he was certain was not caused by the dagger wounds themselves. Brutus. Brutus, of all people... Caesar closed his eyes, giving in to the darkness.

There was a blinding white light, and a strange rushing feeling in his head, and then he found himself in a small, dark cubicle of sorts, he guessed. Well, this wasn't what he had expected the afterlife to be like. He realized with a jolt that he was actually alive again. And that he was wearing a tunic and toga he hadn't worn for years. And that he was, in fact, something around 20 years old.

"Oi, old man! If you're done checking yourself out now, think you could let us out of here?"

Caesar turned around and looked down to see a young teenage boy glaring at him. He looked strangely familiar, but Caesar couldn't place where he had seen those features before. Yes, they were softer on this boy's face, but all the same... "Cassius," he realized suddenly.

The boy took a few steps back. "How do you know my name?" he asked, suspicious.

"Then you are Cassius? Caius Cassius Longinus?"

The boy-- Cassius-- nodded warily. "Yeah, that's right. Now are you going to tell me your name?"

"Cassius, don't you know me?" This was wrong, this was all wrong. Cassius had killed him, and yet here stood a boy-- if he didn't know better, he'd say this were a younger Cassius-- who didn't know him at all.

"No, I wouldn't be asking if I did." He rolled his eyes.

Caesar crossed his arms, though it was difficult in the tight space. Was it right to want to exact revenge on this Cassius? He sighed, deciding he could think about that later. "Julius Caesar, then."

"Right. So, think you can let us out of here now? It's rather tight and I don't know about you two, but I'd better get back home." Cassius nodded.

"Two?" Caesar looked past Cassius to see a child standing next to some sort of water-filled bowl that appeared to be attached to the wall. One of his hands was in his mouth, the other trailed in the water. It took him only a fraction of a second to recognize this child. "Brutus?"

The boy nodded slowly, not making a sound.

"And do you know me?"

The boy-- Brutus-- shook his head. _Wonderful_. So he was stuck in some cubicle in some unknown place with two of his murderers who didn't even know who he was anymore. The day just kept getting better and better.

Suddenly there was a click and Cassius let out a triumphant shout. "Hah! I got it, take that you old fogey!" He shoved the door open.

Whatever Caesar had been expecting, it had not been a long line of men with confused looks on their faces. They were all dressed strangely, and they stared. Wherever this was, they were definitely not in Rome anymore.

"Let's just get out of here," he sighed, taking one of Brutus's hands and nudging Cassius out the door. The sooner they got back to Rome-- and he to the afterlife-- the better.

* * *

(... Yes, they were in a public bathroom. XD It was funny at the time...! 

Anyway, reviews make the world go round!)


	2. Don't Do as the Romans Do

(A/N: Yay Chapter 2! I still really have no idea where this is going to go. XD Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own 'em. And Shakespeare probably wouldn't let me do this to his characters if he were alive.)

* * *

Chapter 2: Don't do as the Romans do 

Whatever country this was, it was very different from Rome. People dressed and talked differently. At one point, a woman squealed over them and said a string of some language-- which, strangely enough, Caesar found he could understand. When he spoke, he spoke Latin-- but he got the impression that she was hearing it as something else. Something very odd was going on. She insisted on talking to them and looking at their "costumes", and it was only because Brutus was getting fussy that they managed to shake her off.

Judging by the position of the sun, it had been mid-morning when they left the building with the strange cubicles, and now it seemed to be about noon. Cassius was whining about being hungry, and Brutus was becoming very fidgety.

"Quiet, Cassius. Brutus, calm down! We'll find something to eat somewhere and see about getting back to Rome..." Caesar sighed. Taking care of these children was not easy at all-- and he'd only accompanied them for a few hours. But after those few hours, he really couldn't bring himself to think of revenge just yet... besides, he was hungry too.

Brutus sniffled and tugged on Caesar's toga. "Need the toilet..." he whined.

"Baaaaby," Cassius taunted, sticking his tongue out.

"Am not!" Brutus protested, stamping his foot.

"Are too!"

"Nuh-uh!"

"Yes-huh!"

"Nuh-uh!"

"Ye--"

"STOP!!" Caesar shouted. "You're wasting your energy and giving me a headache."

"Sorry," Brutus apologized, hanging his head guiltily.

Caesar sighed and ruffled his hair. "It's all right. Just... I know we're all hungry, just try to stay calm, okay?"

To his surprise, both of them nodded obediently. _Thank the gods._ Now the food. There had to be somewhere he could get food... He stopped a passing man on the off-chance that he might know something. That, and the way Brutus was starting to squirm now did not bode well.

"Good sir, would you direct us to a latrine and the nearest place where we might eat?"

The man stared at them, muttered something about a "loony bin", and pointed to their left. "That way, pick a cafe or something." He hurried away.

"Well that wasn't very helpful," Cassius huffed.

"No, it wasn't," Caesar agreed absentmindedly, running his hands through his hair. None of the strange building on the left looked like any place to get food, and even if they were, he wasn't sure they'd accept Roman drachmas.

"My stomach hurts," Cassius sighed.

"Okay, okay, just--"

"Caesar?" came a new voice.

Caesar whirled to face the person. "A-Antony?" This was _not_ the Antony he remembered. This Antony looked about his current age, maybe a little younger. This Antony was dressed in the same clothes the other people in this area were wearing. Antony was not supposed to be this age. Antony was supposed to be younger than Brutus, even. And yet this was definitely Antony.

Antony almost laughed. "And I thought I was the only one to end up here. It's nice to see a familiar face..." He trailed off, noticing the two children. "Caesar, I don't remember you having any sons."

"That's because... I don't," he deadpanned. "Cassius and Brutus." He smirked at the shocked expression on Antony's face. "Don't ask, I don't have any idea either."

Antony's fists clenched. "And you're-- aren't you going to _do_ anything about it?" There was a dangerous look on his face.

"Antony, be calm." Caesar dragged his friend over to the side. "They don't remember. They don't remember anything," he explained softly. "They're still only children. At least give Brutus a chance."

"I know..." Antony sighed. "How much... do you-- do you only remember up to your death?"

"Well, it's not as though I _could_ remember more, now, is it?"

"Right. Yeah. Sorry." Antony ran a hand through his hair sheepishly. "Right. Um. Yeah, second chance and all that."

The sudden change in demeanor did not go unnoticed. "Antony, is there--"

Antony cut him off. "And anyway, we really should stick together in a strange place like this."

Caesar frowned slightly. There was definitely something Antony wasn't telling him. But he trusted Antony, and all in good time, he supposed.

"Oiiii, old man, think you could get us some food sometime in THIS CENTURY? Maybe before we DIE? And before baby here wets himself?" Cassius interrupted.

"I'm not sure which one of us you're referring to, but I can do that," Antony cut in before either Brutus or Caesar had time to respond.

"Really?" Cassius asked, ecstatic.

"Really." Antony nodded with a smile. "Come on, let's go."

He led them into a nearby building-- it was called "Wendy's", although Caesar honestly couldn't figure out why. It was stuffed full with chattering people and the smell of frying food.

"Just-- stay over there and stay out of trouble and I'll take Brutus to the toilet," Antony shouted over the din.

* * *

"Decide on anything to eat yet?" Antony asked by way of greeting upon their return, bringing the group together to line up while they looked at the menus overhead.

"I don't even know what a burger is," Cassius sighed. "But I'll eat just about anything right now."

"Pick something, anything. I'll pay, as I doubt any of you have the correct type of money." He knelt down to Brutus's eye level. "Brutus, is there anything you saw that you want to eat?"

Brutus gave a sort of one-shouldered shrug. "I dunno. Anything. You pick something."

Antony laughed. "Is everyone trusting me to decide what they're going to eat?" At a collective nod from the group, Antony grinned. "All right, then, I'll pick sandwiches."

He placed the order and paid, and while they were waiting, he asked, "So do you have a place to stay yet?"

"Hadn't thought about that, actually," Caesar admitted. "I've been so busy just keeping track of these two."

"You three could come stay at my apartment... it might get a bit crowded, but I'm sure we can manage, for now at least," Antony replied. The person from behind the counter pushed two trays of food towards them, and Antony balanced one on each hand. "Pick a place, any place, let's sit down and eat."

"I wanna sit by the window!" Brutus announced.

Caesar laughed. "And so we shall. But Antony, you never told me where we are."

"Well... that's the complicated thing." Antony set the food down and rubbed the back of his neck. "You see, we're in America. And we're a couple millennia into the future."

* * *

(I was going to use Cicero at first, but then Antony decided that he'd fit better, so. I'm not really sure, still. And as always, reviews make the world go 'round :D)  



	3. Try to be Normal

(A/N: Sorry for the long wait between chapters! School is constantly trying to take over my life. XD This chapter was difficult, you'll probably see once you read it, but I wanted to post it, and I think this is the best I can do without a beta. :)

Disclaimer: Still not mine, nor will they ever be. I'm not making money, I'm just meddling with some characters Shakespeare created.)

* * *

Chapter 3: Try to be Normal 

"Well, this is it," Antony announced, unlocking the door to his apartment and gently pushing it open. He let the other three people enter before he did, pulling the door shut and locking it behind him.

"Amuse yourselves, children-- peacefully, please, I'd rather the building were still standing. I'll find some clothes for Caesar and then we'll see about going out in the afternoon. Bathroom through there--" he pointed to a half-open door-- "and ask if you need anything."

The two older men wandered off into another room, leaving the two children in the front room. They looked at each other silently for a moment.

"So. That's really weird, isn't it? How we're supposed to be in Rome in a long time ago but actually we're in Am... America, in the future, and how we probably can't go back," Cassius said.

"Yeah." Brutus nodded, flopping down on the couch. "I dunno how come it can happen like that."

Cassius sat down slowly beside him. "What's your name again?"

"I'm Brutus, an', an', an' I'm six." He held out six sticky fingers and nodded.

"Ha, I'm more than twice as old as you," Cassius said triumphantly. "I'm thirteen."

"Soooo? I'll be as old as you in, um... seven years!"

"Nope! You'll always be seven years younger than me, because then I'll be twenty and you'll still only be thirteen." Cassius grinned.

Brutus pouted. "You're mean."

"That's just the way life is," Cassius said brightly with a shrug.

"You're still mean."

"Sorry," Cassius shrugged again.

Caesar stumbled into the room, tugging at his shirt. "Antony, is this-- how do you-- is this ireally/i what people wear?"

Antony followed him a moment later. "Yes, it is, and-- turn around, you're one button off, honestly." He rolled his eyes and leaned in to help Caesar fix his shirt.

"We're going out shopping in the afternoon," he said absentmindedly as he worked. "You and the children need clothes, the last thing we need is to draw attention to the fact that we're not from here. Until we figure things out, it's probably best to keep quiet. And there, inow/i the buttons are all right, and stop pulling at it!"

Brutus tilted his head to the side and giggled. "You look funny."

"Well, pretty soon you're going to look funny too, since this is how everyone dresses here." Caesar reached out to ruffle Brutus's hair. "You two ready to go?"

"Yeah, sure, whatever." Cassius stood up. He was already halfway to the door when he stopped and turned around. "What's so bad about people knowing who we are?"

"We're historical figures. To them, we're dead, and we've been dead for a long time. And if they found out we were actually alive... Well. Maybe I haven't been here very long, but one thing I have learned is that people are quite nosy when it comes to famous people."

Cassius nodded, chewing his lip. "Shouldn't we use false names, then?"

Antony laughed. "No, I don't think that amount of secrecy is necessary..." But Cassius had a point there. Maybe those false names were something he should look into. He shook his head to clear his thoughts. "Let's go, the sooner we can get you three to blend in, the better."

* * *

All the way to the mall, Antony found himself contemplating the idea of false names. It really wasn't such a bad idea... after all, none of the people he had met in America had names that sounded like "Marcus Antonius" or "Caius Cassius Longinus". But he had already given his name as "Mark Antony", and to change it now would be suspicious. 

He stopped them just before they entered the mall. "I've been thinking... Cassius had a point. Maybe we should think about at least modifying our names."

"Then how should we modify them?" Caesar asked quietly.

"Well..." Antony thought for a moment. "Most people here seem to have two names. Their 'first' name is like a familiar name, and their 'last' name is a name shared by everyone in their family. Caesar, you should be all right, I think, provided you drop the 'Gaius'. So we could keep 'Cassius' and 'Brutus' as your first names, and give your last names as either Caesar or Antony."

"But we're not related," Cassius protested.

"We're pretending to be," Antony countered. "It'll look odd if we're living in the same apartment, yet completely unrelated. There'd be questions about you, and Brutus, and where your parents are."

Brutus tugged on Antony's sleeve. "Mama an' Papa are in Rome," he said.

"I know, Brutus. And that's why we can't have questions," Antony explained.

"So which one sounds more... normal?" Cassius demanded. "If the whole idea is to fit in."

Antony scratched his head and glanced between Cassius and Caesar a few times. "I would have to guess at Antony," he said finally.

Caesar nodded. "All right. Cassius Antony, Brutus Antony, and... I suppose I'm still Julius Caesar."

"Right. I've already been telling people that my name is Mark Antony, so we should be all right?" He looked around the group, seeing everyone nod.

"Then let's go in, people are staring," Caesar cut in, and the four of them hurried into the mall. This world-- this... America... was so different from Rome.


	4. In a Shopping Mall

(A/N: Again, sorry for the long wait between chapters. School is getting better at taking over my life, and it really doesn't help that midterm exams are soon XD But I will keep writing! XD

Disclaimer: ... Y'all probably know this by now, check one of the first three chapters if you don't XD)

* * *

Chapter 4: 

"What's this thing called again?" Cassius asked upon entering the mall. There were so many people in one single building!

"It's a mall," Antony answered in an undertone. "There are all sorts of different clothing shops, and people come here to look at and buy clothing."

"Just the place for us, then," Caesar said wryly.

"Right, then, where do you want to start?" Antony asked, pointing to the standing illuminated map of the mall. The others crowded around him, looking at the map.

"Should we start with Brutus's clothes first?" Caesar suggested. "That's probably easiest done early on, while he's still willing to cooperate-- not that he's that mischievous, but all the same."

Antony nodded. "Brutus, is that good? ... Brutus?" He turned around, looking for any sign of the boy, but he seemed to have vanished without a trace.

Antony muttered a few choice words, told Cassius to forget he'd ever said them, and ran his hands through his hair. "We only took our eyes off him for a few seconds, he can't have gone far."

"So let's start looking. The sooner we find him, the less time he has to get lost," Caesar sighed.

* * *

Brutus pressed his face up against the display window. Caesar was right, _all_ the clothes looked funny. But that wasn't what caught his attention-- what really had caught his attention were the little glowing things. They were about the size of his littlest toe, maybe, he thought, and they were really shiny like the stars except yellower-- and in the daytime. They were all on a long white string. 

He giggled. Maybe if he asked really nicely, with "please", the people in the shop would let him have one. Mind made up, he went in and walked up to the lady behind the counter. She was dressed funny too, but she looked like she was in charge. He opened his mouth to ask, but she beat him to it.

"Oh, are you lost?" She smiled and knelt down so they were eye-to-eye. "What's your name?"

"I'm Brutus," he told her. "And I'm six! I'm not lost, I know where..." he wrinkled his nose. What had they said again? Oh, right. Brothers. "I know where my brother is," he finished.

"Oh, well, that's good. Maybe you should go back to him, though. He might worry," she pointed out.

Brutus giggled. "He doesn't even know I'm gone. He was looking at the big map in the front," he whispered.

"But when he does notice, he's going to worry about you."

There was nothing he could say to that. "Okay, then," he agreed. "But then after I can come back, right?" He wanted to come back to see the little glowing things.

"Of course," the lady-behind-the-counter said, smiling and standing up again.

Brutus nodded and ran back towards the map in the front. He nearly ran into a big person carrying a lot of stuff, but luckily he dodged at the last minute and made it past without falling. He ran all the way to the map and shouted out Antony's name, but they were all gone already. And the people were staring.

"Antony?" he repeated. "Caesar, Cassius?"

But they were all gone. The lady in the store was wrong. They hadn't noticed he was gone at all, they just went away themselves. He chewed his lip thoughtfully. He could probably find them. Probably. After all, he was a whole six years old and that meant he could do a lot of things.

With that thought in mind, he set off for the nearest store. There were a lot of people inside, and there was some really noisy music, but Brutus looked all over and there were no signs of the other three people. Maybe in the next store...

* * *

"He's tiny, he wouldn't have been able to get that far," Antony sighed frustratedly. 

"Except that he did," Cassius pointed out. "We must've been through a million stores by now."

"_Not helping_, Cassius," Antony muttered through gritted teeth. "And it's only been seven-- I've kept count."

Cassius rolled his eyes. "Right, sure, whatever. It's been _ages_, anyway."

Caesar briefly contemplated giving an estimate of the actual amount of time, but decided that it wasn't worth whatever argument it might start. "Let's just keep looking, he's bound to turn up eventually. What would be interesting enough to him that he'd run off on his own in a strange place?"

Both Cassius and Antony shrugged. "No idea," Cassius said. "I don't know, maybe those little lights?" He pointed at the shop display window that had, in fact, captured Brutus's attention earlier.

"We were just in that store," Antony said. "And he wasn't in there."

"Well, _sorry_ for trying to help!"

Caesar threw his hands up in exasperation. "Can you two quit bickering for all of three minutes? Both of you have a--"

"Sorry, no," Cassius muttered. Antony suppressed a snort.

"_Before_ I was interrupted," Caesar started in a mildly annoyed tone, "I was saying that both of you have a point. The lights might have distracted him initially, but something else must have caught his attention since he was no longer in that store when we checked."

"Right, so, basically, we'd just better look all over the building." Cassius grinned wryly, and the group started walking again. "That doesn't help much. And--"

He was cut off by a loud wail sounding from inside the store they were now in front of. The three of them shared a glance. Was it Brutus?

* * *

Brutus was starting to feel a little anxious. He hadn't been counting but it felt like he had been searching for hours and hours and still he couldn't find them. And then it occurred to him that they might never notice that he was gone. They would go home without him and leave him in the mall and then he'd be all alone in this weird place with all the weird people and what would happen to him? 

Before he'd really realized it, tears were spilling over the edge of his eyes and his breath hitched. He let out a wail and then the people were staring and whispering and if they could stare how come they didn't just get Caesar and Antony and Cassius to come?

And then there was a hand on his shoulder and whoever it was was speaking _Latin_ and so he opened his eyes and it was Caesar. Caesar just squatted down and held out his arms, offering a hug, and Brutus gratefully accepted, still sniffling.

Caesar lifted him up as Antony made a quick apology to the other people in the store. It looked like this shopping trip was going to take a lot longer than they had expected.


	5. Bed & Breakfast

(A/N: Um. Hi? Sorry about the long wait between chapters. School is picking up and other stuff has been occupying my attention recently. But anyway, here's a new chapter, enjoy!

And y'all know the disclaimer drill by now, right?)

* * *

Chapter 5: 

"I think I'm starting to get the hang of this," Cassius sighed, dragging his feet along the ground as they walked to yet another one of the many stores in the mall. "We look at clothes. People bug us to buy stuff. We buy stuff. People give us weird looks. We walk around and buy more stuff."

Antony laughed and shifted a few of the shopping bags from one arm to the other. "Yeah, that's about it."

"So can we go home yet? I mean, this is getting kind of boring," Cassius said. "It's weird, but it's getting boring."

"I guess so," Antony agreed. "You've all got enough clothing to last for about a week, maybe a little less, so that should be all right."

"Then let's go back. If Cassius is getting bored and Brutus is tired, we probably wouldn't be able to do all that much anyway," Caesar said.

Hearing his name, Brutus shifted sleepily as he rode piggyback on Caesar's back and let out a faint, questioning mumble.

"It's all right, go back to sleep," Caesar reassured him gently.

Antony suppressed a laugh. "All right, come on, let's go."

* * *

They made it back to the apartment without too much trouble. Caesar deposited Brutus on the sofa, where the boy promptly curled up into a ball and continued his nap. 

"So we need to get more money and learn how the people in America behave," Caesar said.

"And enroll the children in school," Antony added. "The school system-- I'll explain it to you later, but basically, it's public and all the children go. If they don't, well... people start to ask questions. Let's see... Cassius, how old are you again?"

"Thirteen," Cassius responded absentmindedly, taking a book off the bookshelf and starting to flip through it.

"And Brutus looks about... five or six?" Antony guessed. "Well, I can ask him later, but both of the kids are old enough to go to school. Lucky you all came in the summer, so we can just register them at the normal time."

"Don't we need to _pay_ for school?" Caesar sank down onto the sofa next to Brutus.

"Er." Antony scratched his head. "I don't know. But right now I've got a job as a teacher at the local university, if that would help at all... You could probably get a job there too."

"What'll I teach? Ancient Roman history?" Caesar snorted.

"Actually, that's not a bad idea," Antony grinned. "Loads of people are interested in it."

"This isn't written in Latin, is it?" Cassius interrupted, pointing at the book. "And we haven't been speaking Latin whenever we talk to other people during the day."

"No..." Caesar started, a little puzzled.

"There's something wrong. I shouldn't know this language. I've learned Latin and Greek, but never..."

"English," Antony supplied.

"Right. English." Cassius shrugged. "I don't know. It's just... it's weird to be able to speak and read it without having really learned it. I can tell it's not Latin, but I can still understand it, and that seems a bit too strange."

Caesar laughed slightly. "I'm just glad that we were able to communicate. It would be much worse if we couldn't understand it."

"I know, it's just... weird. Like things like this shouldn't happen." Cassius put the book away and sat back down with a small sigh. "Anyway, as you were saying, about school?"

"Right, I don't really know a lot about it, but I guess we'll find out more when the enrollment date comes around. I'll just keep an eye out for news about that." Antony checked his watch. "But now I think we'd better eat, it's getting to seven, and we'll need to decide sleeping arrangements as..." he faltered slightly. "There's only one bed. It's big enough that two of us could share, probably..."

There was an uneasy silence as they avoided each others' eyes. No one wanted to outright claim the bed, but no one wanted to sleep on the floor. Brutus, though, slept peacefully still.

Cassius cleared his throat quietly. "Let's, um. Decide that after dinner?"

"Agreed," Antony and Caesar said quickly.

* * *

Cassius glared at the sleeping form beside him. Oh, it was all very well for Brutus, who seemed to be able to sleep through _anything_, but _some_ people might actually have a little trouble falling asleep in a strange environment on a too-soft bed. Cassius rolled over onto his other side and crossed his arms. No position seemed to be comfortable, and that little device next to the bed insistently displayed the glowing numbers "11:47". Which meant he had been tossing and turning for the past two hours. And some. 

With a loud, frustrated sigh, he finally sat up and swung his legs over the edge of the bed. The _floor_ would probably be more comfortable than this. He made his way down the short corridor, one hand on the wall to keep track of where he was going in the darkness. He made out the faint shapes of the living room-- Caesar on the sofa and Antony on the floor-- and shuffled a little closer. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea. Maybe he should have just gritted his teeth and dealt with it, instead of coming here to _whine_.

But it was too late for that; he must have been louder than he thought. Antony sat up. "Cassius?"

Cassius jerked in surprise. "I..." he started in a croaky whisper. He coughed. "I couldn't sleep. The bed's way too soft. Erm, d'you want to switch?"

"It is a bit hard to get used to, isn't it? Will you be able to sleep here?" Antony stood, surprisingly quiet.

"I think so?" He shrugged. "I'm not really all that sleepy, if that's what you mean. But I think I could."

"Warm milk always helps," Antony suggested.

"Nah, I think I'll be okay. I'll try, anyway," Cassius said.

Antony laid a hand on his shoulder. "Good night, then." And with that, he walked toward the bedroom, familiar enough with the apartment that he didn't need to keep a hand on the wall, Cassius noticed.

The hardness of the floor under only a light cushioning of a few layers of blankets was more like the type of bed Cassius was used to, but even still, sleep eluded him for a while. He stared up at the ceiling, arms behind his head. If only there were some way to make himself fall asleep!

Eventually, he started repeating the word "sleep" in his mind, to try to make it happen. He had lulled himself into a drowsy state when a cough from Caesar startled him back to awareness. He nearly screamed in frustration. He never had this much trouble getting to sleep back home. Well, some days when his mind wouldn't slow down and seemed to be concentrating on about ten things at once while he tried to sleep. Which was probably what it was doing right now, he realized.

By the time the glowing numbers on the machine on the countertop read "1:03", he decided that thinking about nothing was a lot harder than it sounded. _Why_ couldn't he sleep? It was really driving him insane. Numbers, then. He'd count. And maybe that would make him fall asleep.

He'd reached something around 1024 before he lost track and started from the beginning again, but his eyes were starting to feel heavy and his breathing was starting to even out. This was actually pretty comfortable. He could lie here for a long time... and besides, he was starting to feel a bit tired...

"...the computer, best if you stay away from it for now. There are books on the bookshelf, some board games in the closet-- don't give me that look, the person who used to live here left them here-- and I know I've got color pencils somewhere, which can be quite entertaining for children. I'll be back for lunch. And /please/, don't leave the apartment till then, I've got quite enough to worry about without you running off to who-knows-where."

Antony's voice pushed persistently into his head, and he finally gave up trying to go back to sleep. He rubbed his eyes, propped himself up on his elbows, and looked up to see Antony-- _Mark_, he reminded himself forcefully. Those false names wouldn't do any good unless they remembered to use them, which he really should have realized earlier. Mark and Julius sitting at the table, eating and talking.

"'Morning," Cassius muttered, yawning.

"Good morning. Sleep well?" Julius asked.

"Yeah, after I _finally_ managed to fall asleep." He yawned again. "Back in a moment," he mumbled, stumbling toward the bathroom.

"My last class gets out at 3, so I'll get back around then, and then we can have a go at really cooking something instead of using the microwave or the toaster," Mark said. "I'll have to bring you by the university sometime, maybe after things have settled a bit and the kids are in school. I hate to think what they'd do to the apartment if we left them here alone."

"It couldn't be _that_ bad, this young Cassius seems to be quite level-headed," Julius said reasonably.

"Yes, I do suppose so." Mark drained his cup of coffee and stood, taking a piece of toast. "I need to go, my first class starts in 10 minutes and I'm really pushing it as it is. Anyway, I'll see you at lunchtime," he said. He'd grabbed his bag and was out the door in a matter of seconds, toast clamped between his teeth.

Julius blinked. Well. He seemed to be in quite a hurry.

Cassius returned, looking a bit more awake, still dressed in his pajamas. "Heyyy. Julius. Anything for breakfast?" he asked, dropping down into Mark's recently-vacated seat. "And where's Mark?"

"Toast, marmalade, and fruit," Julius said, pointing them out. "Mark's gone to teach his class."

"Oh." Cassius shrugged and helped himself to some toast. He nibbled on one corner of it thoughtfully. "Have you wondered... if we're here, what's happening back in Rome? Do people realize we're gone? They've got to, haven't they?"

"I suppose so," Julius said carefully. He didn't think Cassius really needed to know what had happened yet. So he scrabbled for something to change the subject-- "Brutus up yet?"

Cassius scoffed. "How should I know? I wasn't the one sleeping next to him."

"Cassius," Julius reprimanded.

Cassius stared. Julius stared back. And finally Cassius huffed, looked away, and stood up. "Fine. I'll go check."

He wandered down the corridor, stomping his feet particularly loudly. He peered into the bedroom-- "Oi, Brutus, you awake yet?"

And he was. Brutus was sitting up in the middle of a tangle of sheets, looking sleepy and a little bit lost. He nodded and yawned. "I'm hungry."

"Then come eat breakfast." Cassius turned and was almost out the door before he looked back. "And hurry up!" he added.

"I'm hurry-up-ing!"

Cassius grinned. He could practically _hear_ Brutus pouting. "I'll eat everything if you don't."

Brutus slid off the side of the bed and ran to catch up with Cassius. "Wait for m--" His left foot slipped on the tile and he went sprawling forward. He landed with a loud slap on his hands and knees. He pushed himself back into a sitting position, tears welling up already.

Cassius scrambled for a solution before Brutus started crying. "Hey, hey, um. You want to be brave, right? Well, brave people get hurt a lot worse, and they still don't cry. So try and be really brave, okay? Maybe it hurts, but you gotta be brave, okay?" he stammered.

Brutus looked at him for a moment. And then slowly, he rubbed his eyes, nodding. "'kay. It still hurts."

"Well, duh it still hurts. Brave people get hurt too. Only, they're so brave that you can't actually tell." Cassius nodded.

"Oh." Brutus thought this over. "Okay." He pushed himself upright again, blinking rapidly. "Then I'm okay now."

It took nearly all of Cassius's willpower to suppress his sigh of relief. "Good. I'm hungry now too, so let's go eat breakfast."


End file.
